Electricity Distribution Companies, DisCos, in the country have accused the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, of attempts to distance itself from the July 1 commencement of the new service-based electricity tariff regime.
This allegation is contained in a statement released by their umbrella body, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, ANED, signed by its Executive Director of Research and Advocacy, Sunday Oduntan.
The statement says the DisCos operate in a regulated sector and cannot take a decision about a very critical aspect like tariff without approval from NERC as the regulator.
It hinted that in recent days the regulator warned DisCos not to be mentioned in any of their communication about the tariff increase with consumers.
“We’ll like to inform Nigerians that tariff review (upward or downwards) is the primary responsibility of NERC as our regulator. We are required to submit our proposals and they have the final say.
The DisCos argued the proposed increase in tariffs and the timing were done by NERC as DisCos alone cannot fix and approve electricity tariffs”.
All DisCos had started communicating the new tariff regime, set to take effect from July 1, 2020, since last week. The communication was geared at enlightening customers about the details of the service based tariff increase to ensure consumers were fully aware of how it affected them and the supply band they fall under.
